Fujishima Akira

Fujishima Akira, (born March 10, 1942, Tokyo, Japan), Japanese chemist who discovered the photocatalytic properties of titanium dioxide, which had wide technological applications.

Fujishima earned a bachelor’s degree in engineering from Yokohama National University in 1966 and a doctorate in chemistry from the University of Tokyo in 1971. He taught at Kanagawa University (1971–75), was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Texas at Austin (1976–77), and then was named associate professor at the University of Tokyo in 1978. He became full professor at the university in 1986 and was given emeritus status in 2003. That same year he was appointed chairman of the Kanagawa Academy of Science and Technology (KAST). Fujishima oversaw the merger of KAST with the Kanagawa High-Technology Foundation (KTF) in 2005.

In the late 1960s and early ’70s, when Fujishima was completing his doctorate course work under Kenichi Honda’s supervision, the two found that a relatively inexpensive and widely available material, titanium dioxide, acts as a photocatalyst—a substance that facilitates a chemical reaction when it is exposed to sunlight. In their experiments titanium dioxide exposed to light caused water to decompose, producing hydrogen and oxygen. This discovery gained worldwide attention as the “Honda-Fujishima effect” after it was reported in a 1972 issue of the journal Nature and opened up new and diverse paths of research. Fujishima’s research group later determined that though the catalysis reaction had little promise as an energy source, it could be used as a surface coat for substances like glass and tile, where it served to repel water and bacteria. By the early 21st century, photocatalyst technology had been commercially developed and was used in a variety of products, including self-cleaning coatings for tile, streetlight covers, and automobile mirrors. There was also hope that photocatalysts could be used to break down pollutants such as harmful fossil fuel by-products and remove them from the environment.

Fujishima was elected president of the Electrochemical Society of Japan in 2003. That year Fujishima also became the first recipient of the Heinz Gerischer Award of the European Section of the Electrochemical Society. Fujishima and Honda were named winners of the 2004 Japan Prize, an international award given annually to individuals who have made outstanding contributions to science and technology. The award cited Fujishima and Honda’s pioneering research on photochemical catalysis and its applications. Fujishima also edited Diamond Electrochemistry (2005).